As a PRO, we support producers by managing the flow, recycling and re-purposing of used tires, from source to end point.

How Tires are Made:  Blending chemistry, physics & engineering to make and recycle tires Ever wonder how your car tires were made?  The basic steps of tire manufacturing start with intensive planning and design to customize each tire model to meet the stresses and performance requirements to match a particular vehicle. The production process begins with the selection of several types of rubber along with special oils, carbon black, pigments, antioxidants, silica, and other additives that are combined to provide the exact characteristics for each class of tire.  The assembly of the tire includes an inner liner, body plies and belts, bronze coated steel wire strands, and finally, tread and sidewalls. After being pressed together, the end result is called a “green” or uncured tire. In the last step the green tire is placed inside a mold and inflated so it forms to the tread. Then it is heated to more than 300 degrees Fahrenheit for twelve to fifteen minutes, vulcanizing it to bond the components and cure the rubber. Tires are then inspected, and sample tires are randomly tested, x-rayed, cut apart to look for flaws, run on test wheels, or road-tested to evaluate handling, mileage and traction performance. Tire manufacturing involves a custom five step process based on the tire type The future of tires:  sustainable, lighter, stronger & recycled Sustainable When an array of sophisticated materials and components are vulcanized to form a technologically advanced product, the end result is a tire that is indeed impressive. After roughly 4-5 years, as a set of tires reaches its end-of-life, they are removed and collected in preparation for processing and re-purposing into new materials. The goal is to ensure that whatever goes into a tire can be renewed or re-used, providing a sustainable option to disposing of tires. This is a great example of the circular economy, where sustainable production has environmental, economic and social benefits.  The four “Rs” of the circular economy all exist within tire recycling: Reduce: minimize waste Reuse: repair, salvage, remanufacture, second hand use Recycle: convert scrap materials into another commodity Recover: any materials that are difficult to segregate and recycle The four Rs of the circular economy: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Recover Michelin is committed to making their tires 100% sustainable by 2050. This is an ambitious but realistic target for the Group, a leader in sustainable mobility. Here are some of the innovative ways our customers are moving towards holistic sustainability. Developing Lighter, Longer-Lasting Tires Tire manufacturers are developing ways to reduce tire mass on passenger tires. This could decrease the amount of material needed. In addition to this, by developing tread compounds that are more resistant to wear, tread mass is reduced while also providing a longer tire life cycle. Developing High-Load Capacity Tires (HL Tires) By combining science and engineering, tire manufacturers, in collaboration with auto makers, are designing and producing tires that can support heavier vehicle loads without increasing maximum tire pressure or size. “HL” tires are present in Europe and are currently being introduced to the North American market for SUV, electric and hybrid cars.  These cars are typically built on the same size frame as standard cars but weigh more, so they require a higher load capacity tire.  Goodyear’s Fortera HL tire is a great example of this. Electric car at a charging station Using Renewable Raw Materials Making tires from renewable materials has always been a lofty goal for scientists.  Now, together with tire manufacturers, scientists are researching ways to use renewable biomass; organic material that comes from plants and animals. Finding ways to recycle natural rubber and other renewable biomass will pave the way to using more sustainable raw materials in tire production. Some of the research is focused on finding new varieties of rubber trees and other means to increase rubber yields. The goal is to secure rubber production today, as well as protect and enrich the natural rubber supply in the future. Tire manufacturers like Michelin partner with rubber plantations to implement both responsible and sustainable best practices. Manufacturers are also developing rubber plantations to reverse deforestation by planting rubber trees in previously clear-cut areas. (reference specific tire company) One particularly interesting focus has been on using oils (e.g. sunflowers) and organic waste from plants. Plant based materials can be used to make bio butadiene, a type of synthetic rubber used in tires. Members of the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber are exploring the benefits of this approach. A team from the University of Minnesota is perfecting a three-step chemical process that can produce isoprene from renewable biomass such as trees, grasses or corn.  Isoprene, together with natural rubber, make up the main components of a tire. Economically bio-sourced isoprene has the potential to expand domestic production of car tires by using renewable, readily available resources instead of fossil fuels. Trees corn & grass as potential biomass sources Adding Recycled Components to Tires Once used, the waste from polystyrene (think food containers and packaging) can be recycled into tires by mechanically breaking down the polystyrene into a powder, heated, and combined with bio-butadiene to create a sustainable synthetic rubber. With this technology, approximately 80,000 tons of polystyrene waste could be recycled into tires each year in North America. Polystyrene food containers & tire manufacturing Another source of common waste that can be recycled into tires is PET plastic (think water, soda and juice bottles).  It can be recovered and broken down with enzymes into base monomers, where the remaining components of the plastic can be reformed into polymer reinforcements in tires. Michelin predicts that up to four billion plastic bottles could be recycled into new tires each year. Recycling Plastic Bottles for Use in Tire Manufacturing Turn Old Tires into New Products Tire recycling technology can be used in support of a circular, sustainable economy.  The gold standard is that EVERYTHING in an end-of-life tire could be recovered for reuse. Currently, Michelin plans for as much as 90% of recovered materials to be reused in a variety of rubber-based products, such as tires, conveyor belts and anti-vibration products. The remaining 10% will be reused directly by manufacturing plants to generate heat and power. With this technology, 56 million tires could be recycled each year around the globe to make new Michelin tires. Retreading Old Tires For many medium-duty applications such as 18-wheel trucks and buses, a sustainable solution is retreading, or adding additional tread to reuse the remaining tire carcass. This can be economically advantageous and increases the overall lifespan of a tire. In future, reuse through retreading could become the standard in passenger cars as well. Apprentice mechanic and teacher retreading wheel in automotive workshop Airless Tires It is not the tire itself that supports the load of a vehicle, but rather the air trapped and compressed in the tire. Bridgestone is developing airless tires, where a structure made from sustainable materials supports the load. The hub and spoke stay the same, but the treads can then be changed out for later use or modified for different uses. When the tread reaches the end of life, it is recycled, and a new tread is attached. Connected Tires Imagine if your tires could communicate with your vehicle and you, providing information on the usage history of the tire, as well as road conditions. Tire manufacturers are introducing tires into the market equipped with a radio frequency identification (RFID) inserted into the tire sidewall. The tire has a unique identifier that provides information in separate secure databases so that tire manufacturers and service providers can track the history (and lifespan) of a tire. Research is also underway on using electronics in tires to aid in the vehicle control system. This could be helpful when it comes to knowing how deep the water is on the road on a rainy day, or what the minimum stopping distance should be based on the tire tread. Tire manufactures are experimenting with adding RFID chips to tires to track their performance. How we make tires affects how we recycle tires The tire recycling industry is thriving in Ontario, as the market for products made from recycled tires is growing quickly.  From gym mats to playgrounds, companies are creating innovative and inspiring options.  The process starts at a processing facility, removing the rubber from the rim, separating the steel and fibre, and chopping the rubber into various grades of crumb.  The crumb rubber is then sold to companies that repurpose it into new products.   TierraVerde™ unbreakable planters Does high-tech design impact how we recycle tires? As tires become more adaptive to environmental conditions and sophisticated in their safety and mobility features, it adds new layers of complexity in the recycling process.  For example, how do we effectively remove RFIDs and other electronics from tires before they are processed into crumb rubber?  Tire recyclers must take great care and use special equipment to remove all debris (including the steel bead) before shredding them. The recycling process will inevitably begin to adapt as the manufacturing process evolves. Tire wire is used in the production of new tires, giving the necessary strength to withstand bumps, heat and other hazardous conditions. Crumb rubber is recycled rubber produced from automotive and truck scrap tires  Who is responsible for recycling end-of life tires? In the past, that burden fell to municipal landfills to dispose of old tires.  Now, there are over 400 jurisdictions around the world, with about 80 in Canada, that follow an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and/or Individual Producer Responsibility (IPR) model. This is an environmental policy that makes producers responsible for the entire life cycle of the products they sell into the market, to their end of use/life (including waste collection and recycling). Under EPR/IPR regulations, obligated companies must mitigate the environmental impacts of their products throughout the entire product lifecycle. Here in Ontario, we have been proudly recycling tires for over a decade.  The Ontario tire recycling management system officially changed to an Individual Producer Responsibility (IPR) model in 2019 with the enactment of the Tire Regulation (O.Reg 225/18) under Ontario’s Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act (RRCEA). Simply put, the goal of the regulation is to keep Ontario’s scrap tires out of landfills, inspire innovation within the industry, support a circular economy and protect our environment. Tune into our next blog as we explain why change continues to be par for the course as Ontario adapts to RRCEA and IPR. We will examine the innovations that might shape the next few years. As a PRO, eTracks supports producers by managing the flow, recycling and re-purposing of used tires, from source to end point.  We manage a complex supply chain of thousands of service providers, like All Ontario Recycling, to ensure producers remain compliant with regulations and support a more circular economy.   Interested in how resource recovery, tire recycling and the circular economy works?  Visit our resources page.

What is natural rubber and why should we care?  The future of rubber and the case for innovation in the tire industry. The Individual Producer Responsibility (IPR) model used in Ontario is intended, among other things, to spur innovation at the manufacturing level, to drive innovation that reduces waste, and increase the recyclability and re-useability of the products we use in our homes and businesses. The tire industry is embracing this need in several ways, including, the exploration of new tire material options, developing more efficient tires and of course, ensuring that tires are responsibly recycled and repurposed into new products. To examine this, let’s begin and the beginning. Imagine a world without rubber, without tires, where planes couldn’t land, and cars couldn’t drive…What would happen?  Let’s start by exploring the intriguing history of rubber, its contribution to the tire industry, and the inevitable transformation and innovation that is occurring on account of its finite supply. Hevea brasiliensis tree tapping latex Are tires still made of rubber? Rubber is a natural product produced from one tree and a handful of plants.  It is classified as a polymer.  Some polymers exist naturally while others are produced in laboratories and factories.  Natural rubber is an essential raw material used in over 40,000 products such as medical devices, surgical gloves, aircraft and car tires, pacifiers, clothes, and toys.  The global rubber market size was worth nearly US$41 billion in 2018. The most common way to make rubber is to extract the rubber-containing latex (a milky white fluid containing proteins, starches and alkaloids) from a very unique tree called the Hevea Brasiliensis. In addition to its high strength and the capability to be stretched many times without breaking, natural rubber compounds are exceptionally flexible, good electrical insulators, and are resistant to many corrosive substances.  The largest end-user of rubber is the automotive parts industry, which uses rubber to make car tires, hoses, pipes, gaskets, and other parts. Nearly 70% of the world’s rubber production is used to make car tires every year. Footwear, led by the top 10 largest footwear companies, is the second largest end-user for rubber. Synthetic rubber can be produced through a chemical process, but no one has been able to produce a synthetic rubber that has all the properties of natural rubber…yet.   Natural rubber is still very important to tire manufacturing, even if tires now contain less rubber than ever before. Tires carry the great responsibility of supporting tonnes of weight at high speeds across varying terrain, over years of use, all while carrying precious cargo (i.e. humans). The formula that keeps us all safely moving is, therefore, of the utmost importance. Our tires and cars carry precious cargo The “seedy” history of the rubber tree and why are we searching for new sources While liquid rubber was used medicinally as early as 1600 B.C., we credit Christopher Columbus for bringing it to the Americas in the 1490s. South Americans used to dip hats and cloth in latex to make them stronger and waterproof. It wasn’t until Charles Marie de la Condamine went to the Amazon in 1734 and found two trees containing latex. The Castilla Tree and the Hevea Brasiliensis. Ultimately, the Hevea tree succeeded over the Castilla tree because of the way its latex was transported along the trunk. The Hevea tree has connected latex tubes that form a network, or connected system, that bleeds latex when a special incision is made in its trunk making it much easier to harvest. In 1839 Charles Goodyear invented the vulcanization process of treating rubber with sulfur and heat, to harden it while keeping its elasticity.  It prevents rubber from melting in the summer and cracking in the winter. Then in 1888, John Boyd Dunlop invented the air-filled rubber tire, making rubber an extremely important raw material worldwide. Rubber became an essential material for the Industrial Revolution.  So much so, it created a huge push from businesses to increase the amount of rubber extracted from Amazonian trees. At the time the Brazilian Amazon was the only source of rubber. They controlled the price, making rubber expensive. Rubber was such an important material for Brazilians that they prohibited the export of rubber seeds or seedlings. Yet, in 1876, Henry Wickham managed to smuggle 70,000 rubber seeds, hidden in banana leaves, from the Amazon to England. From those seeds, only 1,900 seedlings survived and were sent to Malaysia to start the first rubber plantations in Asia. After only 12 years, the Malaysian plantations soon became the world’s main natural rubber supplier.  In 1888 Henry Nicolas Ridley, a scientist at the Singapore Botanic Gardens, developed a continuous tapping method for harvesting latex from the Heveas.  With a much higher yield and a global demand for the product, rubber became an essential material in Singapore’s development. Nowadays, around 90% of natural rubber is produced in Asia, with Thailand and Indonesia being the most important rubber suppliers (supplying more than 60% of the world’s natural rubber). Natural rubber drying in vertical sheets So why are we looking for new rubber sources? Since Asian rubber plantations started from only a handful of seeds, all the trees are genetically very similar. Less genetic variation means lower ability to fight against plant diseases. If one tree becomes sick, the illness can rapidly spread to the entire plantation. Under natural conditions, rubber trees commonly grow with a lot of space between them, so disease is less common. On plantations where rubber trees grow very closely together, it can become lethal. Other threats come from: competition for plantation land from the highly competitive palm oil markets, labour shortages due to the difficult and poorly paid rubber tapping work, the concern that latex from the Hevea tree can cause serious allergy, and the fact that the Hevea trees can only grow in certain tropical climates. There are a couple of interesting natural rubber alternatives, such as the guayule and Russian dandelion, but the quality of rubber may have more impurities than the Hevea tree, and thus not be good enough for all uses.  It is also a more expensive extraction process.  The search for more reliable low-cost natural rubber continues. In the meantime, the automotive industry has made incredible advances in tire construction.  Today, only 20-30% of a tire is made of natural rubber.  While rubber, steel and fibre make up the bulk of a tire…as many as two hundred different raw materials combine into a unique mix of chemistry, physics and engineering to give consumers the highest degree of comfort, performance, efficiency, reliability and safety that modern technology and creativity can provide. Latex tapped from a hevea brasiliensis tree In September we’ll look at how tires are made, and the innovations that are making them more sustainable. As a PRO, eTracks supports producers by managing the flow, recycling and re-purposing of used tires, from source to end point.  We manage a complex supply chain of thousands of service providers, like All Ontario Recycling, to ensure producers remain compliant with regulations and support a more circular economy.   Interested in how resource recovery, tire recycling and the circular economy works?  Visit our resources page.

eTracks Tire Management Systems recently presented it’s 2021 “Awards of Excellence” to seven service provider companies that demonstrated strong partnerships, business excellence and integrity as we navigated another successful year of tire recycling under the Ontario tire regulation and Individual Producer Responsibility (IPR) model. Here we spotlight each of these recipients in recognition of their valuable role in helping us build a sustainable tire recycling system in the province of Ontario. 2021 Award Winners Those honoured were: Award of Excellence, Hauler of the Year, William Day Award of Excellence, Processor of the Year Lottridge Retread Award of Excellence, Hauling – Peninsula Tire Exports Recycling Award of Excellence, Hauling – Micor Recycling LTD Award of Excellence, Hauling – R&E Tire Award of Excellence, Hauling – All Ontario Recycling Award of Excellence, Processor Emterra Tire Recycling The Day Group Award of Excellence, Hauler of the Year, Day Group Tire Recycling. The Day Group offers tire hauling services where they will pick up used and old tires of all sizes across Northern Ontario (from North Bay to Kenora near the Manitoba border), and transport them to recycling centres in Southern Ontario. The Day Group is a family business in Azilda and the Greater Sudbury Area.  It was founded by 20 year old William Day in 1954, who started out with with one truck, hauling lumber and plowing snow with his dad in the township of Dowling.  The Day Group business has grown over the years to become a successful multi-service business (think surface mining, transportation, arial drones, rail services, line painting and of course…used tire collection). William (“Bill”) worked hard and was dedicated to his company and employees for 64 years. If there was an opportunity to try something new, grow the business or expand to new areas, he tried it.  He saw the people of the company as his greatest asset, but also saw them as family.  He demonstrated strength, integrity, and generosity during his life, values that are still core attributes of the company today. Thank you to everyone on the team at Day Group for your valued partnership, we look forward to working with you for many years to come. Lottridge Tire & Retreading Inc. Award of Excellence, Processor of the Year, Lottridge Tire We congratulate Lottridge Tire & Retreading Inc. for receiving the eTracks 2021 Service Award of Excellence as our PROCESSOR OF THE YEAR!! Lottridge Tire & Retreading Inc. has a long, proud tradition going back more than 50 years of servicing the commercial trucking industry within the Golden Horseshoe. Their main products and services are Bandag retread products as well as new commercial and passenger tire sales including Bridgestone/Firestone, Michelin, and many other quality brand names. Their real strength though, is their ability to combine these products into a service program that can be specifically designed to meet the needs of today’s modern fleet. Across the Niagara region they are uniquely able to provide all of the products and services to fleet accounts without the requirement of any third party sourcing. The eTracks team really enjoys working with the Lottridge team, and value their friendly, timely and reliable approach to their work.  We also love their tag line, “We Keep You Rolling.”  Thank you Lottridge for your continued partnership, business excellence and integrity in your approach to service.   Micor Recycling Ltd. Award of Excellence in Hauling, Micor Recycling LTD Micor Recycling Ltd. is the recipient of an eTracks Award of Excellence in Hauling. Located in Toronto, Micor Recycling Ltd. has been in the tire collection and recycling business for over 30 years. They are known for their high-quality servicing, assisting many of the leading chains in their tire removal needs. Micor joined the eTracks program in 2019.  If you are an enrolled eTracks  collector, they will pick up your tires for free withing 24 hours of your call.  Now that is great service!  Whether a large or small pick-up, Micor has the equipment and professionalism to handle the job… Anywhere in Ontario. Our eTracks team has high praise for the great folks at Micor, citing Mark Capland’s deep industry expertise and willingness to share his time and knowledge.  Our stakeholder relations group, compliance team and regional investigator are always so grateful for Micor’s excellent record keeping, responsiveness, and courteous approach. Micor is committed to cleaning up the environment, one tire at a time.  Thank you Micor, for your continued strong partnership, business excellence, and integrity.   PTE Recycling Award of Excellence in Hauling, PTE Recycling We are pleased to introduce you to PTE Recycling, the Brantford, Ontario company that has received one of our 2021 Service Awards for Excellence in Hauling. Peninsula Tire Exports has worked with eTracks over the last few years to continue to develop the reused market for Ontario tires. PTE has worked closely with multiple processors to increase the flow of tires from the province and to find end markets both internationally and domestically. PTE Recycling is known for their Fast & Reliable Scrap Tire Collection, and they are currently Canada’s largest exporter of used tires.  They cull tires from various collection sites across Ontario, grade and then sell the tires into markets in Texas and across the Caribbean. Congratulations Ryan and the PTE Recycling team on your award, and your contribution to the circular economy here in Ontario.   R & E Tire Award of Excellence in Hauling, R & E Tire R&E Tire received an eTracks Award of Excellence for Hauling in 2021. Also awarded in 2019, R&E continues to be a strong service provider in our eTracks network. As we drive toward sustainability, one tire at a time, we acknowledge the strong partnership we share with this wonderful family run company. The Brown family have been exceeding their customer’s expectations at their Frankford, Ontario location for years. A glance at their 5 start customer reviews will reveal their focus on quick and friendly customer service with great prices. Our stakeholder relations team here at eTracks appreciate how Ben Brown has been in this industry for a long time and is super knowledgeable. His transparent straight shooter approach is welcomed both by eTracks and his R&E customers. What a terrific hauler to have in our eTracks network. Congratulations R&E Tire! We wish you many more years of continued success.   Emterra Group Award of Excellence in Processing, Emterra Group We celebrate our strong partnership with Emterra Group, winner of a 2021 eTracks Award of Excellence in Processing. Great companies often begin with a great story, and when Emmie Leung started as a small curbside collector of cardboard in the 1970’s, the Emterra story was just beginning. Today the family-owned company is an international enterprise with over 1,100 employees, 40 locations and five distinct divisions…all driven by an entrepreneurial spirit and a passion for transforming waste into resources. Emterra combines experience, innovation, and leading-edge technology to design and deliver cost-effective recycling and waste reduction programs and advisory services in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Michigan. Our eTracks team value the business excellence that Emmie, her daughter Paulina, and the full crew at Emterra consistently bring to the tire recycling industry. We salute their mission “to be a leader in creating and delivering products and services that enable people and businesses to become stewards of the environment and the future.” In addition to supporting both community and diversity in their business practices, what captures the hearts and minds of many eTrackers is Emmie’s belief that there is value in everything and in everyone. That belief, coupled with an entrepreneurial spirit, compels her to view challenges not as barriers, but as opportunities. Well said Emmie, and well done Emterra on your Award of Excellence!   All Ontario Recycling Award of Excellence in Hauling, All Ontario Recycling We congratulate All Ontario Recycling for receiving our Award of Excellence for Hauling. All Ontario Recycling has been a full-service metal recycler for over 30 years. Headquartered in Barrie, they have 2 recycling yards and are widely considered a leading provider of metal recycling services and haulage to auto wreckers and metal recycling yards across Ontario. They also haul end-of-life tires, and have been one of our principal haulers since eTracks began.  Our team has nothing but praise for the helpful, cooperative and respectful interactions we have had with Beverley and the rest of the All Ontario Recycling crew.  Our regional investigator respects the way they provide timely information as well as industry insights based on years in the business. One of our fondest memories and moments of gratitude came when All Ontario Recycling helped eTracks and Goodyear Tire with a massive old tire clean up in the mines.  They have “earned their stripes” over the decades and we salute their ongoing contribution toward Ontario’s circular economy. As a PRO, eTracks supports producers by managing the flow, recycling and re-purposing of used tires, from source to end point.  We manage a complex supply chain of thousands of service providers, like All Ontario Recycling, to ensure producers remain compliant with regulations and support a more circular economy.  Learn more at eTracks.ca    Interested in how resource recovery, tire recycling and the circular economy works?  Visit our resources page.

We’ll be sharing end-of-life tire and recycling industry insights and what we’ve learned since 2019 as one of the largest tire PRO’s in Ontario. Some of the themes we’ll be talking about in the coming months include: 1. What Happens to Used Tires? According to a 2020 survey conducted on behalf of eTracks, only 37% of Ontario consumers are aware that their used tires are recycled into new products. 2. Change is Constant Change continues to be par for the course as Ontario adapts to the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act (RRCEA) and Individual Producer Responsibility (IPR). What innovations might shape the next few years? 3. Data is King A key driver of our success as a Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO) is accurate data; as the saying goes, data is king. Technology is allowing the recycling industry an opportunity to improve data collection methods, providing more accurate reporting options and allowing industry leaders to make informed choices. 4. Start-ups and Best Practices Before IPR, everyone played on one field called the Ontario Tire Stewardship (OTS); as a government funded organization, OTS paid for the collection, hauling and processing of Ontario’s used tires. With the implementation of the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act (RRCEA), Ontario ushered in the Individual Producer Responsibility (IPR) model, introducing a free and competitive market where service providers became competitors, and producers were now responsible for collecting and repurposing 85% of the tires they sold into market. 5. Economics & Supply Chain As the largest tire PRO, being able to move away from the old Stewardship model to the new competitive model creates unique challenges. What does it mean when some of your contracted service providers are also your competitors? How have we managed a complex supply chain and achieved compliant networks? What are the economics of recovery and the value of accurate transactional data? More to come…